Cover of an edition of To Kill A Mockingbird; author Harper Lee; scene from the movie, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch
It is true that some of us are addicted to all those pings alerting us to a bit of breaking news. But, you see, we are also growing immune to many of these news breaks and don’t even stop to check what the headline reads. Too much of a good thing, perhaps.
In most cases, news alerts remind us of bad news, of another ISIS beheading, or a terrorist attack somewhere in the midst of a crowded public square, or even another air disaster.
That is why the news alert Tuesday telling us that Harper Lee, author of the classic and best-selling novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” will publish a second novel in July, was one of those moments when I smiled as I held my iPhone 6 in my hand. I think I even caught myself saying something like “Bravo. New York Times,” and then turned quickly to Twitter to share my joy.
I also observed one interesting detail about this particular Times news alert. Usually, the moment a news organization puts out a breaking news alert, other organizations immediately followed. It is a cascading sequence of ping after ping after ping. Not this time.
That is why this news alert gave the Times an edge in its selection of breaking news content, one that helps solidify what that great newspaper is all about, in case anyone needed validation.
Newspapers are judged by what their editors consider transcendental enough to become worthy interruptions of our busy lives.
And, of course, the new novel by Harper Lee, titled “Go Set a Watchman,” is a summer event to look forward to. Not to mention that we must dust off that old copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and give it another reading. It’s been a long time since that English 102 class in which it was required reading.